"We were not allowed to give away, sell, re-home the dogs. Even the SPCA wouldn't take them. They had to stay in my possession," said Northern Puppies owner Tammy Staley.

She said without enough income to take care of the puppies left in their care, she and her husband had to start borrowing money.

"I called Department of Agriculture numerous times to see what I could do. Just to feed them alone and take care of them was killing us. We were running out of money," said Staley.

Her husband, Michael Staley, said the stress started taking a toll.

"It's hard on the family, it's hard on her especially. How many nights I'd come home and see her just depressed, crying," said Michael Staley.

So, he said he made a spur-of-the-moment decision, and decided take the dogs out.

"We couldn't bring them to anybody. They couldn't even leave the property. So I took them out, placed them around. You know, if I was an evil person nobody would have found them. I wanted these dogs to find homes," he said.

It didn't take long for police to figure out what happened.

Staley says he showed officers where the dogs were, taking them to each location where he had left them.

"If I had done it different I should have brought them to the police department, or SPCA or something," said Staley.

Plattsburgh police say they have found all but five puppies. The ones still missing had been left at the end of Kent Falls Road, two were left at the NYSEG parking area off Soper Road, and one was left at the intersection of Collins and Strackville Road.

Plattsburgh police ask anyone who has found a stray puppy recently to contact them.

NORTHERN PUPPIES, AND HER HUSBAND WHO'S ACCUSED OF ABANDONING 24 PUPPIES ACROSS THE NORTH COUNTRY, SPEAK WITH NEWS CHANNEL FIVE. THEY SAY THERE'S MORE TO THE STORY, AND THEY TOLD IT TO NEWS CHANNEL FIVE'S DAVID SCHNEIDER. HE JOINS US WITH THIS FIRST AT FIVE STORY, DAVID? - TAMMY STALEY SAYS THERE'S MORE TO THIS STORY THAN THE PUBLIC HAS HEARD. SHE SAYS AFTER SALES STOPPED IN THE WAKE OF ALLEGATIONS INVOLVING KITTENS IN HER STORE -- SHE AND HER HUSBAND DIDN'T HAVE ENOUGH INCOME TO SUPPORT 24 PUPPIES. THE OWNER OF THE PET STORE "NORTHERN PUPPIES", SAYS IT ALL STARTED AFTER THE STORE LOST ITS LICENSE TO SELL PUPPIES MORE THAN A MONTH AGO. Tammy Staley, OWNER, NORTHERN PUPPIES 3:48 "We were not allowed to give away, sell, re-home the dogs. Even the SPCA wouldn't take them. They had to stay in my possession." 4:00 STALEY SAYS WITHOUT ENOUGH INCOME TO TAKE CARE OF THE PUPPIES LEFT IN THEIR CARE, THEY HAD TO START BORROWING MONEY. Tammy Staley, OWNER, NORTHERN PUPPIES 4:01 "I called Department of Agriculture numerous times to see what I could do. Just to feed them alone and take care of them was killing us. We were running out of money." 4:14 MICHAEL STALEY -- TAMMY'S HUSBAND -- SAID THE STRESS STARTED TAKING A TOLL. Michael Staley, HUSBAND 4:28 "It's hard on the family, it's hard on her especially. How many night's I'd come home and see her just depressed, crying." 4:37 SO, STALEY SAID HE MADE A SPUR-OF-THE- MOMENT DECISION, AND DECIDED TAKE THE DOGS OUT. Michael Staley, HUSBAND 6:15 "We couldn't bring them to anybody. They couldn't even leave the property. So I took them out, placed them around. You know, if I was an evil person nobody would have found them. I wanted these dogs to find homes." 6:29 IT DIDN'T TAKE LONG FOR POLICE TO FIGURE OUT WHAT HAPPENED. STALEY SAYS HE SHOWED OFFICERS WHERE THE DOGS WERE, AND HELPED WITH THE SEARCH. Michael Staley, HUSBAND 7:48 "If I had done it different I should have brought them to the Police Department, or SPCA or something." AT LAST CHECK 19 OF THE 24 PUPPIES HAD BEEN FOUND. PLATTSBURGH POLICE ASK ANYONE WHO MAY HAVE RECENTLY FOUND ONE TO CONTACT THEM. FEEL FREE TO JOIN THE CONVERSATION ON THE WPTZ FACE BOOK PAGE. DAVID SCHNEIDER, NEWS CHANNEL FIVE.